Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow has accused his critics of "poppy fascism" after provoking controversy over his decision not to wear a poppy on air.

The absence of a Remembrance Day emblem on his lapel while reading the news has led to viewer complaints to Channel 4 News and Snow's blog on the programme's website.

Snow, 59, argues that he has the right not to wear items that could be seen as making statements. On his blog, Snow said: "I am begged to wear an Aids ribbon, a breast cancer ribbon, a Marie Curie flower ... You name it, from the Red Cross to the RNIB, they send me stuff to wear to raise awareness, and I don't. And in those terms, and those terms alone, I do not and will not wear a poppy ... Additionally there is a rather unpleasant breed of poppy fascism out there - 'he damned well must wear a poppy!'."

He compared the situation to the recent controversy over the wearing of a crucifix by BBC news presenter Fiona Bruce.

"Fiona Bruce is to be allowed to continue to wear a crucifix, or a cross-shaped item of jewellery. I am allowed to wear unspeakably bright ties. But there is a world of difference there that we should be assertive about. My ties are abstract - I do not believe in wearing anything that represents any kind of statement."

Gulf war veteran Charles Plumridge, 66, from Romsey, Hampshire, said that not to wear the poppy was an insult to war dead. "The red poppy has been a symbol for so many years and he should not be interfering with it. Any questioning of the poppy can only cause anguish to the people that have worn it with pride over the years, the families of those who gave their lives and those people who are still doing so."

Royal British Legion spokesman Stuart Gendall was more conciliatory: "Jon Snow is completely entitled to his opinion about whether or not he decides to wear a poppy. While we are extremely grateful for the support shown to us by all those in the public eye who wear a poppy in the two weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday, we see this as a voluntary gesture of support and would never prescribe when and how any member of the public wears one."

Snow emphasised that his decision had nothing to do with a lack of respect for service veterans. "I respect our armed forces, the sacrifice and the loss, and like others I remember them on Remembrance Sunday. That's the way it is," he wrote. But he added: "I won't be wearing a black tie for anyone's death - I don't for my own relatives, so why on earth would I for anyone else's?"